The Queen's Man
by scribbler.jane
Summary: A prequel to the Epic story. They grew up together. She, adored. Him, a warrior in training. The story starts the night of the pod ceremony. Tara just another girl. Ronin the fresh recrute in training to become a Leafman. He was ready to tell her how he felt, ready to stop being a coward. But when Tara was selected as Queen, everything he had ever planned changed.


Disclaimer: Most of the characters does not belong to me, except for the OC's, nor the original movie, Epic, that inspired this story.

That being said, please enjoy!

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Prologue

She was the most beautiful creature he has ever beheld. Caramel skin and chocolate brown curls, Tara had always held his gaze when she was in the room.

It isn't all that different today. Today is the pod ceremony here at Moonhaven. Today, a new queen is to be selected, and for another 100 years, the forest will be safe from death, decay, and Mandrake. The altar where the sacred pod floated in the clear spring water is surrounded by the Leafmen, green and golden armer shimmering, the heroes and guardians of the forest. Ronin had always known he would be a part of them one day, just like his father once was.

But it isn't the ceremony or the guards that drew his eyes across the room.

Just on the other side of the altar, in the inner circle of the moon light, Tara stood among her friends, Mary Gold with her crown of orange peddles, Danny with her hair of dandelion fluffs, a smile on her face. Her eyes sparkled with amazement and anticipation. She had always wanted to see the bud blossom. It wasn't everyday a queen was selected. Then her eyes rose above the altar and met his. He felt the spark, the charge of electricity through his veins as if he had touched metal. His heart did a number in his chest, and he forgot to breathe. She smiled, her dark eyes twinkling, and he did too. It was so easy to smile around Tara, so easy to loss himself.

An elbow jabbed into his rib made him choke for breath and glare at his best friend. "Hey, what was that for?" Colin, with a knowing smile, planted his hands on his hips. Ronin met him just a little over 6 months ago, when they had both signed up for the Leafmen and started their trainings together. They were a raucous pair, but they were as tight as brothers.

"You are drooling men. Get a hold of yourself." Damn Colin's grin and easy nature. Ronin grinned back, throwing a few friendly punches in retaliation and a bit of embarrassment. Was he so obvious? Did Tara know how he felt about her too?

His gaze was drawn back to her again. Mother Gaia, she was beautiful. And he found himself promising that this is the night, after the ceremony he was going to finally tell her how he feel about her, how he had always felt about her since they met all those years ago.

The crowd gasped with excitement. The moon light finally alined with the bud and it bloomed. The light was brilliant! The power that came from it shun white and warm like the sun. Ronin stared in wonderment. He could feel it, the warmth and the love that made up the power of the queen, and the care she and her predecessors felt about the forest and its creatures. A soft shimmering light rose from the center of the lotus blossom. Slowly, gracefully, it danced around the room, circled around the queen and settled...in the palm of Tara's out stretched hand. In a flash of light, she was transformed.

The new queen has been chosen. The bud and the former queen had chosen Tara.

"Your majesty." The general bowed before her and the crowd all lowered to one knee.

Tara, her eyes were wide and her mouth open, stare at her now empty hand. She? The queen? She looked to her side, her friends had all lowered themselves to their knees. She looked up to the queen, no, the former queen, for the power has shifted from her to Tara. The older woman smiled, wise and ever kind. "You are the queen now, Tara."

Finally it sunk in. Tara smiled and curtsied to the room as it erupted into cheers. Her friends all ross and hugged her. But there was another face she wanted to see.

She turned and searched the crowd for Ronin, wanted so much to share her happiness, her shock with the one man she had always shared everything, her best friend. But he wasn't there. Through the crowd she could just make out his back, walking away. Her eyes met Colin's, and the man shrugged his shoulders and turned, no doubt to follow his friend. Tara felt just a little disappointed.

But once the celebration was over, once her first duty as queen was complete, she promised herself to find Ronin. She needed to see him.

Ronin wanted to kick himself. How could he not have considered this possibility? Kara had always been a empathetic soul, kinder than anyone he knew, braver than even some of the lads in training to become the Leaf Man. Those were the key traits of a queen. How could he not have considered that she might be chosen?

"Ronin?" Ronin felt his temper spiked to rage at the sympathy in Colin's voice. Even without looking, he knew his brother at arms stood behind him with that understanding look on his usually mischievous face. "Don't say it, Colin. I don't want to hear it." There was silence between them, but the forest was not silent. Music and cheers and good wishes flowed out from behind them into the warm night, and the sound of joy filled the air thick as honey. Everything was alive. The air smelled of freshly blossomed flowers and dampness of the rich earth as if it had just rained. How could everything be beautiful tonight, and yet he feel so empty inside?

"Ronin?" His head snapped back, he stared into the soft chocolate eyes of his new queen. Just like that, his rage quelled to an emptiness.

"Your majesty." His head bowed, he addressed her with the formal title. He saw her queen's white train as she walk to him. A soft hand closed around his chin and brought his face up so she could look into his eyes.

"Are we going to pretend we are strangers now?" She asked, putting up a playful smile. He couldn't smile back, couldn't feel anything but deep regret and an ache inside his chest.

"You are the queen now, Tara."

Tara touched the pleats between his brows. "But we can still be friends." She touched the collar of his white shirt. He had such wide shoulders, and broad chest, one that she had had the benefit to cry into when they were young. He looked bigger, stronger. Had he grown taller too since the last time she saw him?

"What if I don't want to just be friends." He said with such a hollowness to his voice that Kara looked up, meeting and seeing the sadness in his eyes.

"Ronin?" She touched a soft hand to his clean shaven face.

His hand combed through her hair, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, his gaze so tender that it made something clench in her chest. "I will see you around, your majesty." He kissed her hand, and without looking at her again, walked away.

(To be continued...)

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Hope this was a good enough start to the story I have in my mind for Ronin and Tara!

There was just so much possibility to their past, and so much untold feelings in the movie that I feel they deserve their own story. A sort of...closure for them and for me.

Please let me know what you all think. I welcome constructive criticisms and shared feelings about the pair! (They had so much chemistry for the little time they got on screen.)


End file.
